If there's one thing atheists excel at, other than illogical statements, it's silly slogans. One such slogan is that Christopher Hitchens had Christians "praying for him to stop". And it's true. Christians pray for atheists, especially those who make a career out of selling atheism. But clearly, that's not because we believe they have a valid point. If we did, prayer would be futile, and we'd know it. The fact that we pray, therefore, proves that atheists are failing to convince us not to.
The real reason we pray isn't because Hitchens and his ilk make good points. To this day, atheism doesn't seem to have any good arguments in its favor. Even the best ones have been dead for hundreds, if not thousands of years. Take, for example, the "problem" of evil. Atheists still use it, but there's a fairly simple 4 step solution:
1. The Bible says God loves you.
2. The Bible says you are evil.
3. Therefore, if God destroys all evil, many people whom He loves will be destroyed.
4. Therefore, God has every motive to postpone the destruction of evil until the last possible moment.
But Hitchens, unfortunately, never repented. He died in his sins. So where is Hitchens now? Obviously, he's in Hades, awaiting the day he will be thrown into Hell with all the other unbelievers. How many believers do you think wanted that to happen? It is a great tragedy that Christopher Hitchens, a man made in the image of God, who loved him enough to hang His Son on a cross, is now destined to an eternity separated from Him.
As many unbelievers as are currently headed for Hell, while the hope of Heaven is still open to them, that is as many people as Christians will pray for. It's not even just atheists. The only way to be absolved of our sins is Jesus. Therefore, we must pray for anyone who doesn't have Him, whether they provide an intellectual challenge or simply chant silly slogans. God wants you in Heaven, therefore His followers will pray for ways to lead you there.